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Teen-agers, children and adults were trying to study, find good books to read and otherwise maximize their time in the same room on Thursday afternoon.

"This is just a very, very active community-based library with very, very tight space constraints," library manager Holly McCullough said.

All that could change within the year.

Carnegie Library officials say Brookline will be among the first of the neighborhood branches to be renovated as part of an $80 million capital improvement plan. A public meeting to plan the project is set for 7 p.m. Tuesday at the library on Brookline Boulevard.

Brookline and Homewood are the first two libraries of the 18 Carnegie neighborhood branches that will benefit under the program. Craig Dunham, who is managing the project for the Carnegie system, said the two branches are big parts of their communities.

"It became clear that the Brookline and Homewood libraries are both in buildings and communities that are well-served," he said. "This would be a good investment into their communities."

Dunham said the Brookline library was the first considered because of an obvious abundance of community support.

The library has been at 708 Brookline Blvd. since 1981. It leased space there until last year, when the Brookline Area Community Council rallied to get the city to purchase the building to ensure the branch library always would have a home, McCullough said.

Dunham said, "To us, that was clear evidence that the community supported that branch and was dedicated to providing better services for the community it serves."

The Brookline branch has a collection of 40,000 books, magazines, audiotapes and videotapes, and circulated 94,358 items last year. Five full-time and four part-time employees work there, and the branch operates on an annual budget of about $219,000.

Programs there also are successful. The branch held 457 events last year, attracting 5,408 visitors. Also, 115 groups used the library's community room for their meetings.

Those numbers show the need for expansion, McCullough said, pointing out that bookshelves are used as makeshift barriers to separate the children's area and the teen reading area.

There is no room to knock out walls to create more space. The library is sandwiched between Sal's Barber Shop and the Party Cake Shop in the heart of Brookline.

"As you can see, not much money has been spent in improving our library," McCullough said, pointing to leaky spots on the ceiling and then at a heavily soiled carpet.

Specific details of the renovations for the Brookline branch haven't been determined, Dunham said. About $2.1 million has been allocated, and about $1.6 million of that would go directly to construction and furniture.

Some suggestions are to double the size of the library by making use of the building's lower level, enhancing the children's area, providing a larger meeting space and installing new furnishings. McCullough also said half of the floor above the library could be used.

Amanda Schanck, a junior at Seton-LaSalle High School in Mt. Lebanon, said most of her time at the Brookline library is spent on the computers.

"It would be nice to have more space in our area to spread out and do research for reports I have to get done for school," Schanck said.

Laura Richardson of Brookline regularly brings her two small children to the library for programs.

"I love the programs for the kids — especially now that the schools are pushing literacy. I use the library more now than when I was a kid. But we just need a bigger children's' section — something more comfortable and roomy, perhaps with sofas. Something more conducive to having a good reading time. That would be great," Richardson said.

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